In my prior U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 036,062, there is disclosed an automatic platen press featuring the utilization of a vertically extending sleeve of filter cloth disposed intermediate a pair of cooperating press platens supported for movement horizontally relative to one another for squeezing of juice from a charge of fruit contained in the sleeve. An upper end of the sleeve is arranged in communication with a hopper or the like providing for batchwise charging of the sleeve with fruit to be pressed and upper and lower valve mechanisms are employed to selectively clamp off or close normally open upper and lower ends of the sleeve, as required to successively provide for filling of the sleeve with the charge of fruit to be pressed, retaining the charge of fruit within the sleeve during the pressing operation and permitting discharge of pressed fruit pulp in the form of a "cake" from which the juice has been extracted.